


The Hero Of Diddly-Squat

by Sir_Mantra



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Legend of Zelda References, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, References to Depression, Swearing, more TBA - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-23 09:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16615958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Mantra/pseuds/Sir_Mantra
Summary: Over a year ago, Eren vanished. Life, for Armin, had never been the same. That was until his best friend suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and with a huge secret to tell: he accidentally saved a world, but he also accidentally doomed another. Will Armin be able to help his best friend? Or will their strained relationship get in the way of humanity’s survival?





	The Hero Of Diddly-Squat

“Happy birthday, Armin.”

Armin rubbed his eyes, drowsy. Mikasa looked over him with a small smile. In her hand was a medium-sized present. The brown box was delicately wrapped with a red ribbon, reminiscent of her red scarf, and a small tag attached, in cursive, read ‘Armin’. The blond sat up on the wooden bench, draped with bundles of linen and polyester, and smiled.

“Thanks, Mikasa.” He laughed awkwardly when Mikasa placed the present on his lap. “You really shouldn’t have…”

“Of course we should’ve.”

Armin and Mikasa looked towards Armin’s front door. Jean, leant against Armin’s doorframe, lowered his head as he tilted his hat in acknowledgement. Armin sighed at his friend’s low-key theatrics, but he couldn’t help but smile.

“Argh, Armin,” Jean groaned, walking towards his friends. “How many times have we told you to _not_ sleep on the bench?”

“Morning, Jean,” Armin said. “I didn’t realise you wore that hat so early in the morning.”

Jean put his hat back on his head. He lowered his head to hide his embarrassed expression. “I didn’t realise you were so _cutting_ in the morning…” Jean grumbled.

Armin laughed whilst Mikasa smiled. “I was just teasing,” Armin said. “It looks very nice.”

Jean blushed. He quickly looked down at his feet. “Thanks, I guess—”

“Armin,” Mikasa interrupted. “Open your present. It’s from Jean and I.”

Jean immediately straightened his posture. “Yes, Armin, you must. We looked _everywhere_ for this.”

Armin’s smile grew. By the sounds of things, his friends worked really hard to provide this gift. “Ok,” Armin said. He untied the ribbon gently and placed it on the stand by his bed. With no time to waste, Armin lifted the lid off the box.

“…Oh.” Armin’s eyes widened as he looked over his present. An old, decaying brown book. Its edges were torn, the binder struggling to keep the few remaining pages in. Armin instinctively touched the front cover. The book felt a bit wet under his touch and it smelled like mud. It felt so similar to that one book from so long ago. It surely couldn’t be that same book, right? 

 _That same one Ere_ —

“Armin? Are you ok?” Mikasa asked, eyebrows knit in concern.

Jean approached the blond. He clapped his hand on Armin’s shoulder. “It’s ok, Armin. There’s something inside.”

Armin snapped into action. That was right. There was something inside to prove this book was the real deal — or, hopefully, that it _wasn’t_. So Armin swiftly opened the book to its first page and there, smudged from months of tears and regret, lay a message.

Immediately, Armin slammed the book shut. He lowered his head, forlorn. Mikasa and Jean shared worried looks.

“Where…” Armin’s voiced croaked. “Where did you find this?”

“Armin,” Mikasa said, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Your grandfather requested this. A parting gift. He said he left something in there for you, something important.”

“Grandfather…” Armin trembled. “Grandfather… left this…” Armin smacked his hand to his head, shivering more violently. Mikasa quickly wrapped her arms around him. Jean rubbed up and down on Armin’s shoulders. 

“It’s ok,” Jean said. “It’s going to be ok. Remember, deep breaths, deep breaths…”

Mikasa tightened her grip on the blond. “Armin, everything’s ok. You’ve got us. We’re still here.” 

It was all too much. Grandfather, the book, _him_ … Everything suddenly overwhelmed Armin. He was trapped under this relentless weight — Armin’s limbs were tied to four posts, a mere white cloth covering his dignity, as these countless rocks representing every pain and worry and regret in his life piled up and up and up, slowly crushing his body, starving his lungs of air to breathe as he wheezed and flailed and cried, and then it all became too much, his back cracking in half with a heavy _crack_ —

“Armin!” Mikasa cried. “Please listen! You’ll be ok!” 

Jean shouted, “Stop moving around! You’ll only get yourself into a bigger mess!”

Armin couldn’t stop. He needed his grandfather. He needed Eren. But they were no longer here, were they? Grandfather had recently passed away, and Eren hadn’t been here for so long now. Was Eren still alive? Armin hadn’t heard a single thing from him since he vanished. It was almost as if he no longer existed.

“Armin—!”

A knock on the door. Armin shot up from his bed, startled. His heart beat ferociously. God, who could that _be_? And at _this_ time? They couldn’t see him like this, no _way_ , he had to hide, he had to escape, oh _God_ , it was harder to _breathe_ —

“I’ll get it,” Mikasa said. “I’ll tell them to leave before they make more noise.” She removed her arms from Armin and quickly walked to the door. Mikasa wasted no time as she swivelled the door knob swiftly and opened the door. Suddenly, Mikasa’s expression changed. She looked so, so shocked.

“What the…” Jean’s voice trailed off, surprised. Armin quickly turned his head around, and he froze. His eyes grew tenfold. No way. It couldn’t be. Armin shook his head in disbelief. It couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be happening. And on Armin’s _birthday_ , of all days.

“Eren?” Mikasa said, stunned. “What are you… Where have you…”

Eren smiled. “Happy birthday, Armin.”

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh this is my attempt at writing a happy, multi-fic with short chapters (<1000 words). i'm not well practised in this area, but i will try my best! 
> 
> (also, disclaimer: i don't own any towns, villages, weapons, etc. that belong to the Zelda universe.)
> 
> enjoy! also concrit always appreciated :)


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